out there, the republican from oklahoma, who said we're draz si if we don't extend the middle class tax cuts. you could see more republicans get there. and that's why i'm really glad president obama is not negotiating both for himself and for the republicans, which was sometimes his habit the last time. he's basically saying you want a bunch of cuts i don't have. don't make me propose them. that's creating some pressure on them. i think both those things will have an effect. we'll get the taxes back if we do nothing. >> the conversation in washington being separate from what it feels like the real needs of the country, a familiar feeling for me. i often have this frustration that the beltway discussion is not what the important questions are that are facing the country. in this case, i feel like as long as we're willing to talk about the economic needs of the country, as long as we're willing to talk about fiscal policy, how can it be we're not talking about new stimulus. the republicans ran against that as if the stimulus was this awful thing. but the republicans lost and we have an ec